Ancient Artifax | Restoration Services

Artifacts with major losses or very badly broken need not be a complete loss. Reassembly along with restoration can help any significantly damaged artifact regain its former beauty. Breaks such as these are best left to be repaired by a professional. Proper alignment during reassembly is a critical step for achieving the best results.

Greek Apulian Krater - South Italy, circa 325 BC - 300 BC — A large Greek krater that was accidentally broken by my client's cat. The numerous pieces were assembled and break lines were restored inside and out.

Teotihuacan Old Fire God Incensario Brazier — An exceptionally large (monumental) Teotihuacan brazier depicting the 'Old Fire God'. The brazier had previously been assembled from original pieces and losses replaced. It was very badly rebroken in a shipping mishap after being deaccessioned from a museum in Texas. The numerous pieces were assembled and break lines were restored as needed.

Chinese Yuan Dynasty Oil Lamp Replicas — Not a restoration project, these are (museum) replicas created for Sony Entertainment. The oil lamps, one intact and one broken, were made to film the live-action trailer for the Sony Playstation video game "Uncharted - The Nathan Drake Collection". The broken lamp is shown in the trailer. The intact lamp is currently on display at Sony Entertainment's corporate office in San Mateo, California.

Moche Peccary Vessel — A large Moche storage vessel decorated with a Peccary. The vessel was broken in shipping into approximately 20 pieces. The pieces were assembled and the breaks restored as needed. A custom display stand was also created.

Colima Turtles Vessel — A very large West Mexican Colima vessel featuring four realistically sculpted turtles. The vessel had been previously restored and broken again into approximately 18 pieces. The pieces were assembled and the breaks restored inside and out.

Huari Drum Vessel — A large Huari (Wari) drum vessel from ancient Peru. Broken into approximately two dozen pieces; the shards were assembled and the breaks were restored as needed. Due to the rounded form, the artifact would not sit upright and was unstable. A custom stand was created to display the vessel safely.

Moche Stirrup Vessel — An early (Phase I) Moche stirrup vessel depicting a bound captive (prisoner). Broken into a half dozen pieces; the pieces were assembled and the breaks were restored as needed.

Moche Canchero — A Moche canchero (dipper); fineline painted with running foxes. The vessel was severely damaged in a shipping mishap. The pieces were assembled and the breaks were restored along with minor paint touch ups. A custom stand was created to better display the chancero.

Chimu Canteen — A large, badly broken Chimu blackware canteen decorated with a human figure surrounded by birds and rain-drops. The numerous pieces were assembled and the breaks were restored along with minor paint touch ups. The vessel would not sit upright on its own. A custom metal display stand was created for added stability.

Moche Stirrup Vessel — A broken Moche fineline stirrup vessel depicting mythological warriors in battle. The pieces were assembled and the breaks were restored along with minor paint touch ups.

Maya Flared Cylinder — Large post-classic Maya vessel with cinnabar enhanced incising. Assembled from original pieces; the (clean) breaks were restored as needed.

Anasazi Canteen — Very large Anasazi canteen assembled from nearly 200 pieces, losses were replaced, the breaks were restored and the paint touched up as needed. This artifact was restored for a private collector. Photos are being shown with consent of the client.

Etruscan Vessel — Large Etruscan ribbed vessel, broken into approximately 18 pieces. The shards (sherds) were assembled and the breaks were restored as needed.

Peten Maya Cylinder Vessel — Large Maya cylinder that had been previously assembled from over twenty original pieces. The pieces were badly aligned and there was a vast amount of excess glue. The vessel was taken apart and all the old glue was removed. It was then properly reassembled and the breaks were restored.

Costa Rican Urn — Footed polychrome vessel from Costa Rica, badly broken in a shipping mishap. The pieces were assembled, the break lines restored and the paint touched up as needed.

Maya Glyph Bowl — Large Maya polychrome glyph bowl, broken into a dozen pieces. The bowl was assembled and the break-lines were restored.

Chancay Urn — Very large Chancay figural vessel, badly broken and reassembled from original pieces. The breaks were restored and paint touched up as needed.

Costa Rican Tripod — Large Costa Rican tripod vessel with highly-adorned reptiles (mythological crocodilian figures) on each rattle leg. Once broken and badly repaired, it was broken again, mostly along old glue lines. The pieces were cleaned of all old glue, properly aligned and restored. Minor losses were replaced as needed.

Costa Rican Armadillo Tripod — Large Costa Rican tripod vessel with armadillos sitting atop each leg. Previously repaired and broken a second time, the breaks were restored as needed. The missing rattle-balls and other minor losses were replaced.

Maya Cylinder — Large Maya cylinder vessel from the Ulua Valley of Honduras. It had been badly broken and poorly glued together. The vessel was taken apart and each piece carefully cleaned of all glue residue. It was then reassembled with the shards properly aligned. The breaks were restored and minor losses were replaced. This stunningly beautiful Maya cylinder is from a private collection. Photos are shown with the consent of the client.

Moche Figural Vessel — Large Moche figural stirrup vessel in the form of a kneeling woman. The vessel was badly broken in a shipping mishap. The shards were reassembled and the breaks restored as needed.

Moche Vessel — Moche fineline stirrup vessel nicely painted showing warriors in battle. The vessel was shattered into approximately 40 pieces. The shards were assembled, the breaks restored and the paint touched up as needed.

Moche Figure — A small Moche figure, very badly broken in a shipping mishap. The numerous pieces were carefully assembled and the breaks were restored.

Ixtlan del Rio Figure — An exceptional Nayarit "Ixtlan del Rio" figure. The head and neck was badly broken. Once the pieces were assembled, the breaks were restored and the paint lightly touched up.

Costa Rican Incised Figure — Very large and rare "Guinea Incised" figure from Costa Rica. The figure was badly broken in shipping. The pieces were carefully assembled and the breaks restored. Only minor fill was needed along with light paint touch ups.

Inca Vessel — Inca double-chamber whistle vessel, very badly broken in a shipping mishap. The (clean) breaks were precisely aligned and the break lines restored along with very minor paint touch ups.

Narino Figural Vessel — Rare standing Narino 'Coquero' figure, badly damaged during shipping. The numerous shards were carefully assembled and the breaks were restored.

Anasazi Pitcher — Anasazi "Reserve" pitcher with major losses. The entire top portion and handle were missing and the vessel was quite worn and very dirty. After being cleaned, the losses were replaced and painted in patterns appropriate to the style and period.

Anasazi Ladle — Large Anasazi ladle with faded paint and missing handle. The faded paint was lightly enhanced and the handle was replaced then painted to match with an appropriate design.

Tang Warrior — Very large Tang Dynasty warrior figure. It had been previously restored (badly), had new breaks and was missing its arms. The old restoration was removed, the broken pieces assembled and the missing arms were recreated and replaced. Proper restoration greatly increased its value and visual appeal.

Moche Warrior Vessel — A Phase IV Moche stirrup vessel with glued breaks. Many of the breaks were rebroken during shipping. Luckily, most of the damage was concentrated on the top and back of the head and around the spout. The pieces were reassembled and the breaks restored. Minor losses were replaced as necessary.

Paracas Bowl — Rare and beautiful Paracas bowl with incised designs decorated with resin pigment, along with negative resist dots. The bowl was bady broken into approx. 18 pieces. The shards were carefully assembled and the breaks were restored.

Nazca Bird Effigy — Nazca stirrup vessel in the form of a bird (waterfowl). Previously repaired and broken again. Pieces were assembled and breaks restored. Also the previous restoration was redone. Paint was touched-up as necessary and the surface lightly burnished.

Chimu Blackware Vessel — Large Chimu bottle-form vessel, badly broken on one side. The pieces were reassembled and the breaks were restored.

Costa Rican Galo-ware Olla — Very large Costa Rican carved and painted Galo polychrome olla. This vessel had been previously restored and then badly broken in a shipping mishap. The numerous shards were cleaned of all earlier restoration and reassembled. The breaks were restored and the minor losses were replaced. Note: This piece is from a private collection in British Columbia, Canada. Photos shown with the consent of the client.

Maya Carved Bowl — A rare Maya carved blackware bowl with scroll work wrapping onto the bottom. It had been badly broken and had previous repairs. The shards were cleaned to remove all glues from the earlier restoration attempts. The pieces were then assembled and properly aligned and the breaks restored. Note: This piece is from a private collection in British Columbia, Canada. Photos shown with the consent of the client.

Anasazi Bowl — Black on red Anasazi bowl broken along one side. The pieces were assembled and the breaks were restored. This bowl had several (rarely seen) ancient repairs; drill holes that would have been tied with string (or sinew) to repair the cracks in ancient times. The ancient drill holes and the cracks associated with them were, of course, left unrestored. Note: This piece is from a private collection in Ohio. Photos shown with the consent of the client.

Mimbres Painted Bowl — This very large Mimbres bowl had been broken into approx. 2 dozen pieces. It had been glued together and partially broken again. Also, there was a moderate amount of paint loss. The shards were assembled, the missing areas (approx. 15%) were replaced and the paint was touched-up as needed.

Mimbres Bowl — Large Mimbres black & white geometric bowl, badly broken with several missing pieces. The original pieces were assembled and the missing areas of the bowl (approx. 35%) were recreated and painted to match. Breaks were restored inside & out.

Paracas Bird Vessel — This beautiful Paracas bowl in the form of a bird was broken into several pieces during shipping. The pieces were carefully assembled and the break-lines were restored inside and out. Clean breaks, properly aligned resulted in the need for very little fill and in-painting. Note: This piece is from a private European collection. Photos are being shown with the consent of the client.

Moche Portrait Vessel — Moche IV Portrait head was broken in half and had a detached nose. Pieces were reassembled and cracks were restored, also the missing areas of the tubular "tempeta" nose ornament was recreated.

Chancay Kero — Broken in a shipping mishap. Clean breaks and proper alignment of the shards resulted in the need for only minor restoration to conceal the cracks.

Cocle Vessel — Large terracotta Cocle vessel, badly broken, reassembled from original pieces with restoration over the cracks.

Nal Bowl — Indus Valley, Nal bowl broken into several pieces with minor chips missing. Reassembled and cracks restored.

Nazca Kero — This vessel required assembly from around 15 shards. Clean breaks and proper alignment of the joints results in the need for very little filling and in-painting.

Large Cocle Vessel — This exceptionally large Cocle vessel came to me badly broken into dozens of pieces. At the request of the client, this project was for reassembly only so the cracks were left unrestored.

Large Nazca Bowl — Reassembled from large shards with minor restoration over the cracks.

Chimu Blackware Whistle Vessel — Chimu double-chamber vessel, badly broken into a dozen or so pieces. Carefully glued back together & cracks restored. Clean breaks and proper alignment of the shards meant less fill was needed and only minor in-painting was required.

Islamic Bowls — Two large Islamic bowls. Very badly broken while being shipped together. The shards were sorted and each bowl painstakingly reassembled. The break-lines were then restored inside and out.

Terracotta Oil Lamp — Ancient oil lamp broken in a shipping mishap. Assembled from original pieces with restored breaks.

Reassembly and Major Repairs